Thursday, January 23, 2014

January 2014 - One Month Down

The year so far:

- We had my partner's daughter with us over from Perth.
- We had Christmas.
- And New Years.
- And cleared out our garage.
- I discovered the Pandora app on my phone, and that led to all sorts of new music.
- Saw Frozen.
- And Sherlock.
- And The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, which was basically the same thing. ;)
- Compiled a truly intimidating to-be-read pile that is no longer under any control at all.


As for New Year's Resolutions... I have two. One of those comes in the form the above mountain. If I manage to at least pick up all of these titles to see if I like them by mid-year, I'll be happy. 

Notable mentions of good books read so far:


Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat (Season 8, #6)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8: Retreat.

I'm not usually a huge graphic novel fan, but as soon as season seven ended, I knew I'd be buying all of season eight in comics. And so I did, and there they've sat for... far too many years. Every so often, I pick one up, wipe off the dust and commit to reading it.

Then, a Willow specific comic was lent to me (pictured in above pic, far right) and I felt I should finish the last three issues of season eight.

Well! I read it overnight. Kept on turning pages, so very, very compelled. The rest of the books have been a bit of a slog, to be honest, but this one made it all worth it!

Who's that on the left hand side of the cover? Why, it's the reason why I found this book so enjoyable. Oz is back! (full review..)

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.


For people who have just picked up this book, please don't be alarmed by the first chapter. You are not about to read a young adult novel with a thin plot and sallow romance front and centre. Though I don't blame you for thinking that with the introduction of Kaz.

Thankfully, the book only grows better than that, and the plot hits such a point that by page 100 you will not be able to put this book down.

I had heard many wonderful reviews about this book, and I am thrilled not to be disappointed by it. This is a young adult novel, with the heroine set in Prague so the schooling system seems a bit skewed from what I recognise; much more adult and seeming like TAFE or college with subjects like life drawing. That only improved my reading experience. Karou is also a kickass heroine who can take care of herself, which is the best pairing in young adult fiction up to date.


I'd also like to keep a record of what I write and where, at least once a month, even if it's fanfiction. (NB: It will be fanfiction at some point. We've just had Season 3 Sherlock. So...)

This month, between 10th - 21st January, I wrote a short six part series posted on Tumblr: Delilah and Sansa.

II

When Sansa tells Delilah she loves her, it’s while walking on a bike trail on the way to get ice-cream. One minute, they’re walking side by side in comfortable silence, the next Sansa kisses her on the side of the face and whispers, “I love you.”

Delilah’s mind stalls. “Do you love me really?” she asks, once a full second and a half has passed. It’s the dumbest thing to ask, and she knows it, but honestly can’t think of anything else to say.

"Of course I do." Sansa’s cheeks are a little flushed, maybe with exercise; more likely with emotion. Then she adds, "It’s okay if you don’t feel it yet. I can wait."

"Oh no, it’s not that!" Delilah rushes to fill the awkward moment even though she’s aware that she’s never told anyone other than family and friends that she loved them. She’s in no way ready to say these words right now, yet Sansa is unlike anyone else she’s ever known. "I mean that… this is all so fast. I don’t know how these things usually go."

In her world, there hasn’t been a lot of time for dating.

"I understand," Sansa says, speaking softly now, in her gentle singer’s voice.

Delilah takes her hand and clasps it tight in both of hers. “No, obviously you don’t. But I’m going to take you back to my place and shower you in affection so you have a better understanding of things.” She looks up at Sansa from beneath her eyelashes. “Even if I’m not ready to say it yet.” 

Sansa’s responding smile shines. It takes Delilah’s breath away. The ice-cream brought from the shop at the end of the bike trail never tasted sweeter.

( I promised I would write fic inspired by Fukari’s lovely work. Part One can be found  here.)
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Part 4.
Part 5.
Part 6.

Inspired by artwork by Fukari, music by Jasmine Thompson and The Dresden Dolls. Word count: 1,448.

From 17th - 21st of January, I also plotted a new novel, projected approx 70,000 words. The first chapter was something I scribbled down during NaNo. Hoping to start that off properly in February, if not before.


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